Was Alex Rodriguez in the Yankees’ original lineup for Game 4 of the ALCS?

It depends on who you talk to.

According to Tigers manager Jim Leyland, he received two different Yankee lineups in the late afternoon, the first one listing A-Rod hitting sixth and playing third base. But then, a courier from the Yankee clubhouse brought a second lineup to Leyland’s office – the one that was officially released which omitted both A-Rod and Curtis Granderson and had Eric Chavez at third base, hitting sixth, Brett Gardner in center field and Nick Swisher back in right field after being benched the night before.

“Is something else going on over there with A-Rod?” Leyland asked the Daily News before the game was postponed by rain Wednesday. “I got two lineups from them, one with him in it and the second one with him out.”

Joe Girardi explained the two-lineup mystery as a mistake on his part and not a last-minute decision to bench A-Rod again.

“We talked about some different lineups during the day,” Girardi said, “and when I handed the lineup to (third base coach Robbie Thompson), I didn’t realize which one it was. It was actually a mistake on my part. We had people in different spots. So I called over there (to Leyland) and told them we gave them the wrong one.”

Here’s a wild thought: How about…Girardi had A-Rod in the starting line-up for Game 4, and, when Alex saw that, Rodirguez said to Girardi “Play your boys, Chavez and Ibanez, because, obviously, you like them more than me”? Or, maybe, if A-Rod was benched in Game 3 for throwing pick-up baseballs at bikini models back in New York, Alex was pissed over that and told Joe “Not today. I’m not playing”?

You have to remember, when it comes to the Yankees – especially when it comes to Cashman, A-Rod and Girardi – there’s always a difference between the “truth” you see and are being told and the “truth” which is actually “the truth.” So, it’s always possible that maybe there’s a chance that A-Rod was in the line-up for Game 4 and then took himself out of it.

If this did happen, eventually, we’ll find out. That’s the beauty of the truth. Three things that cannot be long hidden are the sun, the moon, and the truth. In time, the true story will come out.